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Valentine’s Love Bugs: Sewing with KidsTRIXI SYMONDS IS A DESIGNER, TEACHER AND AUTHOR OF SEW TOGETHER, GROW TOGETHER. SHE DESIGNS PROJECTS THAT ARE FUN AND EASY TO SEW AND HAS BEEN TEACHING CRAFT AND HAND-SEWING WORKSHOPS TO CHILDREN FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS. YOU CAN JOIN ONE OF HER FUN WORKSHOPS, SUITABLE FOR ADULTS to do with KIDS AT SYDNEY’S STITCHES & CRAFT SHOW, MARCH 5 – 8, 2015*. HURRY BOOK YOUR SPACE HERE.
This project has been written and supplied by Trixi Symonds, Coloured Buttons
These little love bugs are colourful good-natured critters that kids can sew and give to their friends and family this Valentines day. Filled with rice grains, they are soft and pliant and will fit snugly into the palm of your hand. They make gentle loveable companions who will happily live in a pocket or sit quietly on a desk while you work.
And if you’re interested in finding some more endearing projects to sew with your kids you might want to take a look at my book, Sew Together Grow Together, which has 20 similar projects to make with your kids. Kids love hand sewing but it’s also a great activity for improving their hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, concentration, and just a really fun way to build self-confidence and independence by showing them that they can create some amazing things.
Materials
STEP 1: Cut out a 5″ square from the red felt. Download the TEMPLATE. Use the heart template to cut out a heart from the pink felt. Handy Hint: Thread the needle using about 30″ of thread, then bring both ends of the thread together and tie in a knot. This stops the thread slipping from the needle, which is helpful when your child is sewing. STEP 2: Sew a running stitch down the middle of the pink heart.
STEP 3: Pin the pink heart onto the red felt. Using a chinagraph or 3B pencil, draw on legs. If you want, you can cut out the template with the legs, place it on the red felt, and trace around it to help you position the legs.
STEP 4: Sew the two pieces of felt together by sewing around the heart. Leave a 1½” opening…
STEP 5: …and fill your love bug with rice grains. Pin…
STEP 6: …and sew the opening closed.
STEP 7: Cut off the remaining red felt to complete the love bug’s shape and glue on wiggly eyes. Valentine love bugs are a common sight in my home at this time of year. Their natural instinct is to search for and find a lifelong friend so if you’re lucky enough to have a single love bug in your home please make him or her a companion ASAP…here’s my little fellow happy and content with his newly found soul-mate:
P.S. You don’t have to use the colours I’ve chosen. Kids love to experiment and they come up with really interesting colour combinations. Also, if you don’t want to use wiggly eyes you can make you own eyes very simply from circles of felt and attach them with glue or a single stitch.
*Trixi’s classes will be running at the show on the Saturday and Sunday only. Note. Toys with glued on eyes are unsuitable for toddlers. |